Iceland has WAY more water than you can shake a giant barn bucket at. In fact, there is sooo much water in Iceland’s hay fields, the farmers have to dig ditches to keep the crops drained lest their land turn into a spongy, soggy swamp.
The entire isle itself is surrounded by water, of course, (albeit salty and filled with whales).
Some ten percent of the island’s surface is covered with glaciers, it has thousands of waterfalls (many which are ginormously spectacular), something like 70-75% of its energy comes from hydro power, and the cold tap water is delictably delicious.
The plentiful hot water is sometimes piped for miles into towns to heat homes, buildings, businesses, greenhouses, sidewalks, and public pools. (If you stay inside a building or in a pool, you will never be cold in Iceland, even in winter.)
And speaking of pools…
Pools, Hot Tubs, and Saunas
Nearly every town–even the smallest of burgs–have a public pool, heated geothermally and usually sporting a wonderful curly-cue water slide… with nice, comfy warm water to fall into.
Water…
…Icelanders love to immerse themselves in it.
There are natural hot springs sprinkled all over the island and the famous thermal baths are quite sophisticated, with pools of varying temperatures from steamy to icy cold.
Drew at GeoSea, Húsavík, Iceland, 2023
Now, on to some photographs of Icelandic water in its many forms…
